Archbishop speaks out on debt 'crisis'

"Joined-up thinking" from the government is urgently required to address the current debt "crisis", Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has told parliament today.

Addressing peers in the House of Lords this morning, Dr Williams warned the government it was unlikely to meet its child poverty target "on present showing".

He called on ministers to take specific action to protect those vulnerable to debt, describing the modern credit economy as a "world of smoke and mirrors" linked to the "historic sin of usury".

Mental health, relationships and parenting are all intangibles which cannot be measured simply through money, he added.

"The impact of debt is enormous… and we badly need more joined –up thinking that can factor into our response to debt an awareness of costs to the NHS, the education services and overall productivity," Dr Williams told peers.

He said improved education in personal finance matters was required for those struggling to manage debt but pressed the importance of maintaining such provision through user-friendly means.

"The encouragement of locally based, entirely trustworthy and user-friendly, educationally sensitive and confidence-building methods of managing debt should be among government's highest priorities in combating the poverty traps I have described," Dr Williams added.

His comments come amid the credit crunch which Dr Williams fears is likely to make what was already a "disturbing enough" situation.

The Archbishop concluded: "We should resolve on specific, targeted measures that will protect those currently so ill-protected against the tyrannies of doorstep credit, and will also provide the tools needed to reclaim some skill and competence in the management of money and resource, so that the ongoing destructive effects of economic privation on the life of families can be arrested."

Alex Stevenson